Automatic closure machine



Feb. 14, 1956 s. G. HAZEL ET AL AUTOMATIC CLOSURE MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1950 GURE 1 INVENTORS STANLE G-HAZ L ROBEERT D- PJCHAED5 AG INT Feb. 14, 1956 s. e. HAZEL ET AL 2,734,673

AUTOMATIC CLOSURE MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGURE 4 ROBERT E. RKZHARDS AGENT Fl 6 U R E 2 STANLEY 'EYEKEE Feb. 14. 1956 Filed Aug. 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I \H- 1 II/ I, 4& 45 I 46 45 7 I w u a. 26

INVENTORS STANLEY G. HAZEL 4 ROBERT E. R\CHARD5 ATTORNEY AUTOMATIC CLOSURE MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVE RS STANLEY 6. HAZ ROBERT E. PJCHARDS Tl-\ElR ATTORNEY United States Patent AUTOMATIC CLOSURE MACHINE Stanley G. Hazel and Robert B. Richards, Chicago, Ill.,

assignors to The Sherwin-Williams Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 15, 1950, Serial No. 179,592

7 Claims. (Cl. 226-881) This invention relates to amachine for adapting twoelement closures to an automatic capping operation for closure of filled cans, jars and similar containers.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an efficient, reliable and simple mechanical device operative in conjunction with containers of varying size and shape, allowing use of closures as described in U. S. 2,045,480 in assembled condition in an automatic filling, capping and closure assembly line.

More particularly, the object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive adapter mechanism operating in combination with a closure dropper which feeds dual-element closures in assembled form to the point of capping and at that point disassembles the closure, positions an inner element in co-operative attachment relation with the container and aligns the outer element thereof so that the outer element may be forced home in a very rapid sequence of operation without spoilation of goods, container or closure.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and reference to the accompanying drawings included as part of the specification.

Figure 1' is a general assembly side view illustrating interrelation of zones 1, 2 and 3.

Figure 2 is a sectional side view along a longitudinal center line of the conveyor, detailing operational elements of zones 1 and 2.

Figure 3 is a detailed exploded view of the container and dual-element closure with parts broken away.

Figure 4is a side view of analternative form of the essential element of the invention.

Figure 5 is a side view partially in section along the longitudinal center line of the conveyor, similar to Figure 2, but illustrating in greater detail the alternative form of the invention as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a full scale plan view of' the assembled fingered hub.

Figure 7 is the corresponding side elevation of the as- I sembled hub of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an additional side elevation of a container with closure in place, partially in section.

Referring in detail to the drawings and initially particularly to Figure l, a conveyor 1 transports container 2 horizontally against guide means-3 and 4; power for the operation of the conveyor and the subsequent mechanical action provided by powered shaft 5, which is, in turn, timed to a prior filling machine. By means of a gear keyed to shaft 5, power is transmitted to chain 6 to gear 7, which gear is timed to the same number of'revolutions per minute as the number of containers filled per minute in the prior filling operation. At each rotation of gear 7, connecting rod 8 operating through crank shaft 9, a subsequent crank and connecting rod 10 causes a pair of shuttle-block 11 (Figure 2) to oscillate back and forth supported within a slideway ll-b. As the filled container leaves the filling machine, the shuttle-blocks ,11 move upward in the slideway l'l-b causing the closure 14 held in 2,734,673 Patented Feb. 14, 195

stationary position by guide rods 15, 16 and stop 17 which form a magazine for said closure to drop. As the blade 12 of shuttle-block 11 passes upward beyond the center of closure 14, the closure is dropped from a supported position upon blade 12 onto keyed element 13 of shuttleblock-11. As the gear 7 completes its revolution, shuttleblock 11 moves forward and blade 12 in rigid attachment thereto, supports the closure nextabove 14 from freely falling into the separation mechanism and jamming the closure feed.

The closure 14 thereafter is separated by blade 12 from the stack, released from support upon key 13 as the shuttle-block comes forward and key 13 has passed downward from its supportive position. The closure 14, the support having been withdrawn, falls onto slides 18 and by gravity descends on said slides until it is arrested by forked element 19, which stops and holds the closure in position at a fixed angle of less than degrees skew to the path of travel of the container. The stop consists of a pair of vertical tines 19 and 20, which are held in spaced-apart relationship to one another by means of spring 18-a. The distance between the tines of elements 19 and 20 is adjustable to accommodate various-sized closures and containers, the distance between tines 19 made to be slightly less than the diameter of the closure, and tines 20 slightly less than the diameter of the container in process. As the container 2 moves forward on the conveyor 1 to a position in contact with tine element 20, the assembled closure 14 held by tine element 19 contacts simultaneously with the container at the crown 25 of the mouth of the container. Upon continued forward motion and before the closure is released from its support on slide 18, the flexible finger elements 30 about the periphery of hub 29 driven through gear 31, chain 6 and idler gears 34-a, 34-h and 34c from power shaft 5 are brought into contact with the inner disk element 27 of the container closure assembly 14. The peripheral speedof the fingered elements 30 is designed to be slightly less than the forward speed of the conveyor 1. As the container 2 continues to advance, the fingers 30 of the fingered element 29 disengage the inner disk element 27 from the compressive flange ring element 28 of the closure 14, retard the forward motion of disk 27 sufficiently to align the fingers of element 27 over the mouth of container 2 at crown 25. At this particular moment of time, the forward motion of the container 2 has caused the tines of forked element 20 to be spread apart against the tension of spring 18-a thus releasing the closure from the slide 18 by separation of the tine elements 19 whichprevi'ously held the closure from forward movement. As the container 2 continues to advance, the spring element 35, supported along with gear 31, hub 29, sections of chain 6 and flexible fingers 30 upon stand 32, bolted to channel 22, contacts the outer flanged ring element 28 of the closure assembly 14 and by its frictional contact therewith, aided by the slower moving fingers 34), bring ring element28 into spaced relationship with the inner fingered disk 27 which is being brought home over the crown 25 of the mouth of container 2 through the pressure of fingers 30 upon disk 27. As the container leaves zone 2 and enters zone 3 carried forward by the vconveyor 1, an additional spring guide 36 frictionally engages the top surface of the ring element 28 and guides the container 2 into position for final closing operations. The partially reassembled dual closure 14 aligned in position on crown 25 of the container mouth enters a series of freely rotating rollers 37, the centers of each subsequent roller arranged at successively decreasing height above conveyor 1. As the parti'ally closed container 2 continues to advance under the rollers, the pressure thereby exerted by the sequence of rollers 37, force the flanged ring element 28 compressively home over the now positioned fingered disk 27 forcing the fingers to grasp the crown of said can and the closure phase of packaging is thereby completed.

It will be observed that elements 15, 16 and 17 forming the container-magazine and the mechanism which operates the shuttle-block 11, are supported on channel members 22 by means of supporting elements 23. The entire magazine assembly is adjustable in height above the conveyor 1 by means of pinion 24 and rack 2 -ib. The rack and pinion adjustment makes possible the necessary change when filling containers of various sizes. Gears 34-:1, 34-b and 34-0 are merely idler gears to remove the endless chain 6 from the proximity of the closure magazine and feed assembly for safety and facility of operation. Idler gear 34-0 serves the additional purpose of keeping chain 6 taut upon adjustment over to various sized containers by adjustment of racks 2d and 33 and pinion 24b. A rack and pinion is also indicated at 33 which provides for vertical adjustment of the flexible fingered hub elements 29 and 30, supported by and upon the standards 32.

Referring to zone 3 in Figure 1, rollers 37 carried in channels 38 serve to bring the closure assembly 1 into final closure position over the container mouth and are also vertically adjustable to accommodate various-size containers by means of threaded shaft 41 operated through a gear system 40 by means of crank 39. By turning crank 39, the roller supporting channels 38 are caused to slide upward or downward on supporting columns 42.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative form of the invention and for illustrative purposes consists of a solenoid valve 43.

Referring to Figure 5, the solenoid valve 43 is mounted on supporting element 32 at an angle as indicated in lieu of flexible fingers 3t and hub 29. In such installation, in addition, immediately below tines 2t) and adjacent to channel 22, a microswitch 44, is attached so as to be horizontally adjustable. As the container 2 moves forward on conveyor 1 to a point of contact between container 2 and closure assembly 14 at the point of contact with crown 25, the microswitch 44 is activated by pressure exerted against it by the container body and through a time delay relay 48, an electric circuit activates the solenoid valve 4-3 causing piston 45 to thrust downward as shown into dotted position 46 causing the roller 47 to exert a retarding thrust action against fingered disk element 27 of the closure assembly 26 in a similar fashion as priorly described in reference to the flexible fingers 36 in the preferred form of invention. Contact between roller 47 and the fingered inner disk 27 of the closure assembly 26 causes a momentary retardation of the for ward motion of said closure assembly, aligns the fingers of disk 27 with and over crown 25 of the container 2. Subsequent forward motion of the container while the solenoid 43 is still activated, brings the disk element home over the mouth of the container. A moment later, piston 45 is again withdrawn into normal position by deactivation of solenoid 43 through the time delay relay 43 and the closing operation continues in the manner hereinbefore described.

While in actual practice the flexible fingers 30 mounted on the periphery of hub 29 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is the preferred form of the invention, the alternative form as shown in Figure has been satisfactorily adapted to the problem met by and in the invention herein described.

Referring particularly to Figures 6 and 7, construction of the fingered hub 29, which is the essential element of the invention in its preferred form, is illustrated in greater detail. Dual hub elements 52a and 52b are keyed to, and are rotated by, shaft 56. A cylindrical slab of rubber, deeply notched about its periphery, forms fingers 30 which are flexible. The slab is secured between hubs 52a and 52b by stud bolts 49 tapped into hub 52b. R0-

tation of shaft 50 at a rate such that the linear speed of the ends of finger tips 30 is slower than the linear speed of containers passing through the capper on conveyor 1 causes intermittent and varying pressure upon disk 27 which also effectively retards disk 27 relative to its forward motion. As will be seen, it is this multiple effect of the flexible rubber fingers 30 which separates the closure, aligns the parts with the container mouth, and effects placement of the inner disk element 27 of the closure over the container mouth.

In the operation of the invention, the nested ring and disk closure of Figure 8 are separated from each other by the pressure of flexible fingers 3b of Figures 6 and 7 as the nested ring and disk are positioned over the container as shown in Figure 2. Flexibility of the fingers, upon rotation of shaft 50, directs pressure against the disk 27, while also retarding its forward motion. The resultant of these forces separates the disk 27 from the ring 23, as shown in Figure 3, bringing the downwardly depending disk fingers 53 home over the container mouth 25. Subsequently, the ring 28 is forced home over the disk 27 causing pressure to develop at a, b and 0 about certain peripheral areas of disk 27 which, in turn, brings downward pressure at 0, giving rise to liquid tight seal at b.

The details of the Magneson closure (U. S. Patent 2,045,480) shown in Figure 3 in exploded position are further detailed in assembled position in Figure 8. Fingered metal disk element 27 is home over the container mouth 25. Contact pressure developed about the peripheries represented by points a, b and 0, created by bringing the ring element 28 home over the depending fingers of disk 27, seals the container.

Having described the invention, we claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, an improvement which provides for automatic handling of dual element closures consisting of a fingered inner disk element in compressive assembly within a flanged outer ring element which comprises conveyor means for advancing a container into single point crown contact with a prepositioned closure assembly supported at said point of. contact at an angle of less than degrees, and skew to the path of container travel; intermittent, varying and retarding pressure means at said contact point operable at time of said contact against the disk element, to retard momentarily the forward motion of said disk, to align said disk element into co-operative spaced relationship with the crown of said advancing container, to release said disk element from the restrictions of said ring element, to spring the fingers of said disk element home over said crown; guide means to align the disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element, and final pressure means to complete co-operative compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

2. An automatic container closure machine which comprises the combination of a conveyor for advancing containers from a filling zone, a magazine for containing a plurality of closures for said containers, means for timed disengagement and dropping individual ones of said closures from said magazine, gravity slide means for prepositioning a dropped closure at a control point in a fixed angle of contact with an advancing container, closure re leasing means at said control point operable by further advance of said container; intermittent, varying and retarding pressure means at said control point operable at the time of contact against an inner disk element of said closure, to retard momentarily the forward motion of said disk, to align said disk element into co-operative spaced relationship with the crown of said advancing container, to release said disk element from an outer flanged compression ring element holding said closure in assembly, to spring the fingers ofv said disk element home over the crown of the container mouth; guide means to align said disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element and final pressure means to complete co-operative compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

3. In a machine of the class described, an improvement which provides for automatic handling of dual element closures consisting of a fingered inner disk element in compressive assembly within a flanged outer ring element which comprises conveyor means for advancing a container into single point crown contact with a prepositioned closure assembly supported at said point of contact at an angle of less than 90 degrees and skew to the path of container travel; a rotary gear-like element pro vided about its periphery with a plurality of flexible finger elements providing intermittent, varying and retarding pressure means operable against the disk element of said closure assembly at the time of contact, to retard momentarily the forward motion of said disk, to align said disk element into co-operative spaced relationship with the mouth of said advancing container, to release said disk element from the restrictions of said ring element, and to spring the fingers of said disk element home over the crown of the container mouth; guide means to align the disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element; and final pressure means to complete co-operative compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

4. In a machine of the class described, an improvement which provides for automatic handling of dual element closures consisting of a fingered inner disk element in compressive assembly within a flanged outer ring element which comprises conveyor means for advancing a container into single point contact with a prepositioned closure assembly supported at said point of contact at an angle of less than 90 degrees, and skew to the path of container travel; a singular piston-type thrust means energized at the time of said contact to provide intermittent, varying and retarding pressure against the disk element, said pressure suificient to retard momentarily the forward motion of said disk, to align said disk element into co-operative spaced relationship with the crown of said advancing container, to release said disk element from the restrictions of said ring element and to spring the fingers of said disk element home over the container mouth; guide means to align the disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element, and final pressure means to complete co-operative compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

5. An automatic container closure machine which comprises the combination of a conveyor for advancing containers from a filling zone, a magazine for containing a plurality of closures for said containers, means for timed disengagement and dropping individual ones of said closures from said magazine, gravity slide means for pre-positioning a dropped closure at a control point in a fixed angle of contact with an advancing container, said closure there supported at an angle of less than 90 degrees and skew to the path of container travel, closure releasing means at said control point operable by further advance of said container; a rotary gear-like element whose peripheral speed is slightly less than the forward speed of said conveyor and provided about its periphery with a plurality of flexible finger elements operable against the disk element of said closure assembly at the time of contact, to retard momentarily the forward mo tion of said disk, to align said disk element into cooperative spaced relationship with the crown of said advancing container, due to the non-abrasive frictional contact between said fingered element and said disk to release said disk element from the restrictions of said ring element to spring the fingers of said disk element home over the container mouth due to the thrust of said fingers; guide means to align the disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element, and final pressure means to complete co-operative compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

6. In a container closure machine comprising the combination of a conveyor for advancing containers, a closure magazine, feed means from said magazine for pre-positioning individual ones of said closures in a fixed angle of contact with the crown of advancing containers at a control point and closure releasing means, the improvement which comprises discontinuous varying and retarding pressure means operable at the time of contact at said control point against the inner periphery of said closure only, the contact friction developed therebetween serving to retard momentarily the forward motion of the closure and to align said closure with the crown of said container, the thrust developed between said discontinuous pressure means and the inner periphery of said closure serving to spring the dependent clamping element of said closure apart and home over the container mouth.

7. In a container closure machine comprising the combination of a conveyor for advancing containers, a closure magazine, feed means from said magazine for pre-positioning individual ones of said closures in a fixed angle of contact with the crown of advancing containers at a control point and closure releasing means, the improvment providing operation with dual element closures consisting of a fingered inner disk element in comressive assembly within a flanged outer ring element which comprises intermittent, varying and retarding pressure means operable at the time of contact at said control point between said container and the inner disk element of said closure, the contact friction developed therebetween serving to retard momentarily the forward motion of the closure assembly and to align said closure into cooperative spaced relationship with the crown of said advancing container, the discontinuous thrust developed between said pressure means and said inner disk element releasing said disk element from the restrictions of said ring element, said pressure means acting to spring the fingers of said disk element home over said crown, guide means to align the disengaged ring element into co-operative spaced relationship with the container engaged disk element, and pressure means to complete compressive reassembly of the dual elements of the closure over the container mouth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,775,255 Risser Sept. 9, 1930 1,929,275 Eudaly et a1 Oct. 3, 1933 2,166,784 Pommer July 18, 1939 2,304,436 Bell Dec. 8, 1942 2,337,032 Davies Dec. 21, 1943 

